LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Coastal photography is cool and if there is one thing that improves a coastal photo it is a lighthouse. There is something mystical and mysterious about lighthouses and they are great subjects for photos. Lighthouse photography provides the opportunity to capture several different types of photos, and if you want to exploit this below are my top 5 tips to capture stunning lighthouse photography images.

1) Lighthouse photography tips – Consider taking long exposures

Number 1 on the list of lighthouse photography tips is to use long exposures.

If you are including the sea in your lighthouse photography you really should consider slowing down the shutter speed and taking some long exposures to breathe some movement in the photo. Slowing down the shutter speed will render the sea nice and milky and when you combine this with a tack sharp lighthouse the end photo can look stunning. If it is a breezy day and cloudy day, and can capture some movement in the sky as well, this is even better.

You will of course need a tripod or some other stable support when slowing down the shutter speed and increasing the length of the exposure otherwise you will end up with a blurry lighthouse too, which is never the desired effect.

Whenever you do some lighthouse photography it is essential to have a tripod with you, as well as some neural density filters, to give you the option of taking some long exposures. Tripods are big, heavy and cumbersome, and because of this many people don’t like carrying them around. A good solution to a full size tripod is a travel tripod, and the one I use and highly recommend is the Manfrotto Befree. In addition to a tripod and some ND filters you may also find a remote shutter release useful, as well as using your camera in mirror lockup mode.

The 10 stop ND filter I use for long exposures is the Zomei 10 stop, and I wouldn't use anything else. The Zomei produces the same results as the Lee Big Stopper and the Hitech 10 stop ND filter but it is a fraction of the cost. If you want the best bang for your buck the Zomei 10 stp ND filter is it. You may want to take a look at the "Review of the Zomei 10 stop ND filter".

Number 2 on the list of lighthouse photography tips is to consider using a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.

If your lighthouse photo includes stormy seas using a fast shutter speed to freeze the waves crashing against the rocky headland makes a dramatic and powerful photo.

Getting a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action on a cloudy and overcast day can be tricky however increasing the ISO and opening up the lens should get the shutter speed to where you need it to freeze the waves. As a word of warning you need to be careful you don’t open the lens too wide, otherwise you will compromise the depth of field.

With modern day digital cameras you can use high ISOs and still not get plagued by too much digital noise. If noise does become an issue there is the option of reducing the effect in the digital darkroom.

3) Lighthouse photography tips – Consider zooming in nice and tight

Number 3 on the list of lighthouse photography tips is to zoom in nice and tight.

Many people shoot lighthouses with a wide angle lens and nothing else, which is a big faux pas. Sure, wide angle lenses are great for lighthouse photography and they allow you to frame the lighthouse, the headland, some sea and also sky but there are times when a frame filling photo of just the lighthouse or even a small section of the lighthouse is a creative and interesting photo, and this requires a zoom lens.

As well as zooming in I also try and get right up close to the lighthouse using the Canon 70-200 lens to get some tight frame filling shots of just the lighthouse.​To get the best lighthouse photography photos you should carry both a wide angle lens and a tele lens as this should cover just about every situation. I also carry a circular fisheye lens, the Canon 8-15, for occasions when I can get very close to the lighthouse and take a different type of shot.

​4) Lighthouse photography tips – Convert to black and white

Number 4 on the list of lighthouse photography tips is to convert the photos to black and white.

Black and white photos are dramatic, powerful, moody and retro, which makes them commercial and saleable.

Rather than specifically going out to capture black and white photos, and setting my camera in black and white mode, I simply convert my photos to black and white in the digital darkroom using Photoshop Elements. Sometimes the photos look awesome in black and white, and much better than they do in colour, and sometimes the photos simply don’t work when converted to black and white. If the photos work, great. If the photos don’t work, I am not overly bothered because I haven’t lost anything.​​Converting lighthouse photography images to black and white is particularly useful for the photos where I had to use very high ISOs to get a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and hence are too noisy in full colour. Noisy black and white images are awesome and the photos are often better with some noise than without.

5)Lighthouse photography tips – Blending multiple exposures​

​Number 5 on the list of lighthouse photography tips is to take multiple exposures and blend them using some photo editing software, such as Adobe Elements.

There are times when you will need to use filters to balance out the land and the sky, or to create a specific mood and this will require a graduated neutral density filter. The problem with lighthouse photography is that the lighthouse will sit in the frame where the filter is at its weakest and strongest points, and all the way in between which means the lighthouse will go from light to dark, which is not realistic.

To overcome the filter affecting the lighthouse the easiest way is to take an exposure without the filter, making sure the lighthouse is correctly exposed before inserting the filter and taking an exposure getting the land and the sky nicely balanced and looking the way you want. Once you have the two exposures you can then place the correctly exposed (and unaffected) lighthouse in the image with the balanced land and sky.

You will need to use a tripod when taking multiple exposures like this and you need to be careful not to jolt or move the camera between the two exposures otherwise the images won’t correctly line up, and whilst you can rectify this with photo editing software it is a real faff. Be careful to leave the set up exactly how it was and you should have no problems.

If your lighthouse photography includes a silhouette of a lighthouse with no detail you don’t need to take multiple exposures as you won’t notice the graduated filter effect.

So there we have it, 5 lighthouse photography tips and tricks you can use to improve your lighthouse images. ​

​Further reading - photography for beginners

This is not the only article in the “photography tips for beginners” series and there are others besides. So, if you found this article interesting or useful below are the other photography tips for beginners articles you may want to check out.“Beach photography tips” is an article consisting of some quick and easy tips that will improve your beach photos. Exposure problems can be a nightmare when photographing beaches and coastal scenes, and these tips will help to avoid these issues.

“Travel photography tips”is an article full of tips, tricks and advice to help you get the best travel photos you can. We all want decent travel/vacation photos, and this article should help you achieve that.

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“Landscape photography tips”is an article full of tips and trips that will help you capture those stunning panoramic landscapes that everyone likes. Decent landscape photos are commercial and, if you can get in the market, there is some decent money to be made. These tips and tricks will help you get there.

“Black and white photography tips”is an article jam packed full of tips to improve your black and white photography. Many people think the best way to capture black and white photos is to simply desaturate a colour photograph in the digital darkroom, however there is a lot more to it than that. If you want to improve your black and white photos this article is a must read.

“Fashion photography tips”is an article focusing solely on the world of fashion photography. If you want to capture commercial fashion photos that will make you stand out from the crowd this article is something you should take a look at.

“Street photography tips”is an article full of tips and tricks to take your street photography to the next level. If you need a bit of a hand to improve your street photos this article is something you need to take a look at.